World’s first drawing is a red crayon doodle made 73,000 years ago

Early humans made red ochre crayon to draw lines on small rock 73,000 years ago. It was probably part of a larger artwork

Lines on this rock (repeated in the graphic below) may be part of a larger work

Craig Foster

By Clare Wilson

FROM a cursory glance, the lines on this small, brown stone could be mistaken for a natural formation. In fact, it is the first known drawing ever made by human hands.

“This is the beginnings of cultural modernity and sophisticated behaviour,” says Colin Renfrew at the University of Cambridge, who was not involved in its discovery. “You would be astonished if you found another animal species producing something like that. It’s the origins of humankind.”